Grez has enjoyed a long history as a writers and artists’ colony. Stevenson spent several summers there in the 1870s and while staying in Chevillon, then a hotel, he met his wife, Fanny. The playwright Strindberg also spent time there as have many artists, including Carl Larsson and painters associated with the Glasgow Boys.

I’m looking forward to a retreat that will be restorative and fruitful. My goal is to complete work on my first novel, ‘This Starling Flock’. And, of course, to enjoy some proper continental sunshine, the many scented delights of French patisseries and cheesemongers, and a soupçon or so of the finest wines known to humanity.